1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of inspection and analysis of specimens. More particularly, the present application relates to gas assisted electron beam induced etching and cross sectioning.
2. Description of Related Art
Some techniques for cross sectioning and inspecting a test sample involve destructively cleaving a test sample in order to examine various elements in the sample. Other techniques for cross sectioning a test sample involve using focused ion beams, gas assisted ion beam induced etching, and high energy electron beam induced etching. However, ion beam based etching and deposition, using gallium, causes gallium poisoning, knock-on implant contamination, and sputtering of surface material onto the substrate and adjacent surfaces in the vacuum work chamber. In many cases, inspecting the sample prevents the sample from being used in production. In other cases, scanning the sample introduces contaminants such as gallium and carbon onto the test sample that interfere with the inspection of the sample.
Consequently, it is desirable to provide improved techniques and systems for characterizing and cross sectioning test samples.